1. Field
The present invention is directed to devices for cutting hair, and in particular devices for cutting hair in cooperation with a comb.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cutting hair successfully is a challenging art. It is difficult to accomplish a proportionate cut all around the head, and hence it is difficult to achieve predictable and reproducible results. Results can vary unsettlingly between visits to the stylist and between stylists.
In general, high degrees of skill and experience are required to deliver a proportionate cut on a predictable and reproducible basis. Good stylists become adept at manipulating both comb and scissors in one hand: gathering hair with hand and comb, measuring length of cut, and then cutting. To measure out the length of cut, they typically place some combination of their hand, fingers, thumb and comb against the clients scalp.
This traditional process requires a careful eye and practiced dexterity to accomplish a quality cut in an economically efficient amount of time. It has been recognized that new and less-skilled stylists may not be able to deliver quality cuts with these techniques, particularly in an economically efficient amount of time. There has therefore been a need for measurement and cutting aids.
The related art generally teaches a comb combined with some kind of guide that indicates a consistent length of cut. This art tends to suffer from two shortcomings. Some aids are not adjustable, so that they only facilitate one length, angle and kind of cut. Other aids are adjustable as to length of cut, but are sufficiently cumbersome that they provide questionable assistance to a stylist or a person cutting his or her own hair.
What is needed is an aid that is adjustable for length and angle of cut, an aid that not only isn't cumbersome but can accommodate both left-handed and right-handed stylists and people who cut their own hair.